First Christmas
by wickedsingularity
Summary: [x-mas stories 2018 #3, one-shot] It's Bucky's first Christmas in his own mind since the forties. His girlfriend wants to make it special.


He wasn't sure how he felt about going somewhere cold. He liked the winter well enough, the snow made everything clean and pretty and he'd had some good times playing around in it when he was younger. But he felt there had been too much cold since Hydra got into his head. Frozen cryogenically. The long and cold winters training in Siberia. Even his personality had been brutally cold whenever he was activated.

Wakanda was warm and comfortable. Simple. Safe.

But she had been so excited about getting access to one of the safe houses that hadn't been exposed when S.H.I.E.L.D. fell that he hadn't had the heart to turn her down. Which is why Bucky Barnes now found himself in one of T'challa's jets with his girlfriend, piloted by the king himself, on the way to a cabin on Svalbard to celebrate the first Christmas with his girlfriend.

"Svalbard has such an interesting animal life," she said excitedly as Bucky asked about the island group. "About thirty species of birds! And the Barents Sea is one of the areas in the world with the most seabirds. And they have polar bears!" She turned to him with a huge grin on her face as she mentioned polar bears.

Bucky couldn't help but smile back, her smile was always infectious. "You must have seen polar bears before, being on missions all over the world?"

"Of course, I have. But not as a civilian!"

He chuckled and leaned over to kiss her cheek.

The rest of the flight continued like that, her telling him about the fun facts she had read about Svalbard before the trip, Bucky being charmed silly by her enthusiasm, and T'challa being amused by them both. Bucky actually felt a bit disappointed when they landed and her stories ended. But the sight that met them was stunning. The full moon lit up a snowy landscape that stretched as far as the eye could see, only broken by a dramatic snow-covered mountain range far in the distance. A small log cabin lay right in the middle of the wide-open space, one single pine tree close by. A faint trail of smoke was floating from the chimney and the only window on the side facing them showed that the lights were on.

"Someone's there?" Bucky asked as he started to pick up their bags.

"There's an old retired agent living on the other side of that mountain range. He's got the fireplace going to warm it up for us," she explained, hoisting a backpack over her shoulder. "You'll be back on the 27th?" she asked T'challa.

The Wakandan king swivelled the pilot's chair around and nodded. "Yes, I will be back on the 27th, at noon. Enjoy yourselves!"

"We will. Thanks, T'challa!"

The couple waved goodbye and jumped out into the snow, making their way to the cabin. Obviously clearing a path wasn't in the old agent's job description. Bucky did his best to push the snow away with his feet as he walked, creating a makeshift path for them to walk on. But he had a feeling they'd be spending most of the time inside. He at least would love to spend a few days in front of a crackling fireplace, his girlfriend in his arms.

When they reached the cabin, she snuck in front of Bucky and unlocked the door. The comfortable warmth from the fireplace hit them and they stepped inside, Bucky was quick to close the door so as to not let out too much of the heat. He stopped and looked around.

The first thing that caught his eye, was a giant spruce decorated with warm yellow lights, red shiny balls, silver tinsel, and a merry star on top that shone just as warm and yellow as the lights. As he looked around, there were red checkered tablecloths on the sofa table and the kitchen table, beige curtains with heart basket details, and red block candles on golden dishes at the centre of every window.

"So," she began. "I may have flown up here a couple of days ago to set all this up. The guy only lit the fireplace, stocked up on wood and food, and turned on the lights."

Bucky turned around and stared at her in awe.

"You don't like it?"

"I love it..."

He dropped the bags he was still holding and walked over and pulled her into a tight hug. "I can't believe you did all this."

"I just wanted you to have a nice, quiet Christmas." She pulled back and laid her hands on his face, pushing his hair back a bit, carding her fingers lightly through it and looking lovingly up into his light blue eyes. "I know you're not that big a fan of the cold, after... everything. But I hope that a few days here won't be too bad..." She let her hands drop to his shoulders and averted her gaze. She shrugged. "It's Christmas. And this is a winter wonderland."

"Doll." It was his turn to lay his hands on her face, forcing her to look at him. "I told you, I love it. It's perfect... Thank you." He leaned down and pressed his lips to hers. She hummed and it made his heart skip a beat. His hands slid down and around her waist, pulling her as close as he could. With her, it was perfect.

That first evening, they spent it putting their things away and familiarizing themselves with the cabin. Bucky went outside to get more firewood, clearing a proper path in the snow while he was at it. It was the cosiest place he had been in, perfectly remote, snow as far as the eye could see, and inside was warm, comfortable, and simple.

Once he had stoked the fire again, they ended the day by cuddling on the couch, admiring the Christmas tree and the flickering flames in the hearth. When they woke each other with their snores, they made their way to the bedroom and went to bed, knowing they could sleep in for the first time in a long time.

* * *

On Christmas morning, Bucky woke from hairs tickling his nose. Her hair was spread out over her pillow, and he laid facing her, his arm across her stomach. His breathing had drawn her hair towards his nose and he only barely repressed a sneeze.

He pushed it away just enough to stop tickling him and gazed towards the window. There was no daylight in this part of the world at this time of the year, but the full moon was up all day and night and cast a cosy light over the landscape. The lonely pine glittered in the moonlight.

A sleepy noise next to him made him look down again. She had one eye half open, gazing sideways at him. "Morning, handsome," she said. "Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas, beautiful." Bucky rose up on his elbow and leaned in to press his lips quickly to hers, but the sound she made had him lingering and the atmosphere in the room changed in the blink of an eye.

Bucky climbed over her, settling between her legs, pressing kisses down her chin and her neck, while her arms slid behind his back, hands roaming all over his muscles. He was already hard, just like he always was when he woke up in the same bed as her, and she grew slicker and slicker with every kiss and every move of his hips, drawing whimpers from her. Bucky loved how responsive she was to him, just like she barely had to touch him to get him going.

As much as he'd love to spend the entire morning worshipping her body, he needed to be inside her. They had plenty of time for worship the next couple of days, in this place where no one could hear them scream. Bucky repositioned his hips and looked down into her eyes for a brief moment, and then he leaned down to kiss her just as he slid in, their gasps drowning in each other.

"James..." Her voice was breathless when he thrust again, her walls already fluttering around him.

"Coming already, doll?" he asked against the skin below her ear, lips working on marking her.

"Yes. Please, James."

He moved his kisses down to her neck, his nose nudging at her chin. She moved her head backwards, exposing herself to him. He worked on another mark, his mouth sucking on her skin in the same rhythm as his hips moving between her thighs. She could have used her hands to hurry her orgasm along, but Bucky's body was pressed against the length of her leaving no room for her hands, and he did nothing to hurry it along either. The build was slow and agonizing, and she mewled, her hands carding through his hair, sliding down his back to squeeze his ass, and back up again. Her thighs trembled around him, breathing ragged.

Bucky slowed his movements and his mouth left her skin with a loud smack. His metal hand caught the glow of the moon through the window as his hands cradled her face. Her eyes fluttered open and they stared at each other as he moved so slowly, too slow.

"I love you, doll," he whispered.

She drew her breath a couple of times before finding her voice. "I love you too, James."

Then he changed his pace, chasing their highs. Her eyes fluttered closed again, and he felt her start to squeeze him. Her thighs tightened around his waist, her body arching slightly. She whined and made all sorts of noises, and they spurred Bucky on, thrusts quickening just a little bit. He was so close, the effort of holding himself back made droplets of sweat roll down his forehead and onto her neck. She had to come first.

He changed his angle just a little bit and it was just what she needed as she came hard with a surprised cry. He almost felt it roll through her with the way her body moved. A few more deep thrusts and Bucky buried his face in her neck with a groan.

Both were too tired to move much, and just laid there while their breaths returned to normal and their limbs started working again. Bucky left lazy kisses on her neck all the while until he felt her push lightly at him.

"As much as I love being caged by your body, I need to breathe a little too, you big super soldier."

Bucky chuckled as he slipped out and settled next to her. He supported his head in his flesh hand, while the metal one moved over her face, pushing back some of the sweaty hair from her forehead, a finger sliding down the slope of her nose and across her lips. "Got any plans for us today, love?"

She reached for his hand and held it in both of hers, caressing his fingers. "Not much. Open presents, most definitely. Maybe take a walk in the snow, make some snow angels? I haven't made any since I was a kid. Hot chocolate after?"

"Sounds perfect. I haven't made snow angels since I was a kid either."

"But breakfast and presents first."

"Breakfast and presents first."

It was a quick matter, she made some toast dressed with unfamiliar things she found in the fridge while Bucky got the fire going. They ate in silence, and he suspected she was as eager to get it over with as he was, even though he would never admit he was as excited as a kid to open presents.

"Okay, come on!" she said after the last bite was swallowed and dumped the plates unceremoniously in the sink to be dealt with later. She took his hand and pulled him over to the couch.

There weren't many presents below the tree, but she did quick work of sorting through them. "Oh, this one is for Steve. We took one of Steve's by mistake..." She held up a lumpy package with gold wrapping paper, grinning sheepishly.

"A surprise for him when we come home then." He patted the seat next to him and she put Steve's present back under the tree and sat down between Bucky and her small pile of presents. "I want you to open this one first." He reached across her and picked up a small square package that was wrapped perfectly in glittery red paper and a gold ribbon.

"You wrapped this yourself?" she asked, grinning playfully, reading the tag.

"Okoye did, actually. Wrapped all of them for me. But she'll deny everything if you ask."

Bucky watched as she carefully pulled the ribbon off and unstuck every piece of tape, he admired her discipline. He was nervous about it and he just wanted to get it over with, her slow unwrapping had him nearly jumping out of his skin.

When the paper was finally off, it revealed a plain brown cardboard box that she opened just as reverently. Then she pulled out a big bauble on a white string, painted with a winter landscape at night. A snow-covered forest in the background, a few spruces in the front, and one of them decorated with yellow lights. The moon shone above the forest, and a squirrel was climbing up a naked birch tree to one side. Deep inside the forest, barely visible, was a tiny red house with a lit window and a Christmas sheaf right outside the door.

"Oh James..." she said, turning the bauble around in her hands, looking at the incredible details painted on it.

"I know it's not exactly like the one you saw in that shop window a year ago, and it's definitely not new..."

She turned to look at him, her eyes wide with wonder and shiny with tears. "Yeah, it looks old? Very old?"

"I think I was thirteen or fourteen. Mom saw it in a store once and I could tell she wanted it, but it was really expensive back then. So, I got a job and saved up to buy it for her for Christmas the next year. It was among my old things that T'challa got from the army right before Shuri... fixed me." Bucky was rambling, but he couldn't stop. "It reminded me of the one you saw and I already got you a real present but I just wanted you to have this one too. And I hope it's okay that it isn't new and –"

"James," she interrupted him, her finger pressing on his lips. "I love it."

He stared at her, barely noticing the single tear that fell from her eyes.

"I love it," she repeated. "It's the most wonderful thing anyone has ever given me." She gently put it back in the box and set it on the table as if the whole thing was the most fragile glass. Then she threw her arms around his neck and kissed him, before burying her face in his neck. "Thank you."

They never got around to taking that walk or making those snow angels that day. They opened the rest of their presents and got working on Christmas dinner. Desert was Bucky doing all the worshipping he hadn't done that morning. Her screams filled the cabin and the snow bunting perching on the tree outside fluttered away every time she screamed loud enough for the sound to carry outside.

* * *

The next day dawned a bit darker than the previous morning. Clouds had moved in during the night, bringing fresh snow. After a more proper breakfast than on Christmas morning, the two of them finally made their way outside just as the sky cleared and the moonlight made everything fairy-talelike again.

Spending a few hours in the snow didn't feel cold at all to Bucky. His girlfriend's joy of playing in the fluffy white substance was infectious and warmed his heart. They didn't walk far, as there was only that one tree and nothing else within a reasonable distance from the cabin. Their footsteps made a wobbly circle around the cabin, branching out here and there where they had attempted to throw snowballs at each other, but the snow was too powdery. Right outside the cabin door were two angels, side by side.

They'd hung their clothes up in front of the roaring fireplace, and before they had even found warm clothes to change into, they'd ended up in bed, working up a sweat.

It was a long while later when Bucky woke up after a nap. He rolled around, arms outstretched, finding the bed empty next to him. He frowned but figured she was just in the bathroom and he closed his eyes again, waiting for her to come back. But then he heard the click of the lock on the front door and the sound of it opening and closing.

He sat up and squinted at the clock on the wall, 6:30 in the evening. That explained why he was so hungry. He slid his feet into the slippers next to the bed and walked out into the kitchen, grabbing a shirt on the way and pulled it on. The fire had nearly died out while they were going at it like bunnies and it was too cold to walk around naked. He gazed out of the kitchen window.

There she was, fully dressed in a hat and mittens, the bag for the firewood clutched in one hand. She had stopped a few steps from the cabin, her face turned up to the sky. It had started snowing again. It fell in big fluffy chunks, the moon visible through a slip in the clouds, making each one glitter. She took a few steps and he saw her tongue was out. Then she moved again, and again, chasing the white snowflakes, trying to catch them with her tongue.

Bucky watched for several minutes while she caught dozens of snowflakes. The sound of her laughter reached him and he smiled. He loved seeing her so free from all the Avengers business, so free from all the responsibilities of being labelled a superhero.

She spun around, chasing another snowflake and stopped when she spotted him in the window. Her grin widened and she waved. Bucky waved back, mouthing "hungry". Then she seemed to remember the bag in her hand, looked down at it and hurried off to the shed to get the firewood.

Bucky chuckled and then went to put some more clothes on, before putting the last couple of logs into the fireplace. She came back in, shaking snowflakes off her hat and leaving a trail of melting snow behind her. He grabbed a few more logs from the bag and the fire roared merrily at having been fed properly.

"Hungry?" he asked, standing up and brushing snow off her shoulder.

"Hmmm, yeah, I think I am."

"I'll warm up the leftovers and you get out of those cold clothes."

"Yes, Sergeant."

"Careful, doll. You need sustenance before I continue with you."

She raised an eyebrow at him while slowly unzipping her jacket. "I'm going to need a vacation when we get home. You're going to wear me out."

Bucky laughed as he wandered over to the fridge to get out all the Christmas dinner leftovers and she went to the bedroom to change. A small frown crossed his face when he remembered they had to go back the next morning. But they'd had a very nice few days, completely free from the Avengers, and Bucky was pretty sure this was going to be his best winter memory, and certainly the only good winter memory this side of the millennium.

And when his girl came out of the bedroom in that red Henley of his that clashed horribly with her polka dot leggings and giant fluffy slippers while sniffing at the delicious smells of the food he was warming on the stove, his only thought was, _I could stay here forever_.


End file.
